India warned to boost internet

[W i d e S c r e e N]

India warned to boost internet

Source

India, one of the fastest-growing mobile telephone markets in the world, is in danger of being left behind by other emerging markets unless it takes urgent steps to boost its access to the internet, research sponsored by Vodafone, the UK telecoms company, has shown.

Research on the impact of mobile phones on the Indian economy, released yesterday, comes ahead of an auction for thirdgeneration spectrum and broadband wireless airwaves, originally scheduled for later this month. The auction now faces delays over a change to its reserve price.

Rajiv Kumar, director of the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations, Vodafone's research partner, warned that India's "very low" penetration of internet would be a drag on the country's global competitiveness.The restricted access was out of kilter with the country's information-hungry "high quality of human resource" and would render India uncompetitive against the likes of China, Korea and Indonesia.

India, Asia's third-largest economy, has less than 5 per cent internet penetration and only 0.4 per cent in broadband services. In some states, such as Bihar and Assam, internet was almost non-existent, research said.
Across the country, about 32m mobile subscribers access the internet through wireless networks, alongside 11m people who access it through fixed-line technology.Restricted internet access lags a booming mobile phone market, which now numbers about 350m users.

Mobile subscribers are rising by a staggering 10m a month, but teledensity - the number of telephones in use per 100 people - is 32 per cent in India, below neighbours Pakistan and Sri Lanka.Usage varies widely between states. While Delhi, the capital city, has teledensity of more than 100 per cent, that of Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state, is only 18 per cent.

Mobile companies, such as Vodafone Essar, Reliance and Bharti Airtel, have driven the fast-paced growth by offering services costing as little as Rs1 a minute. But they complain that limited access to spectrum raises their costs and reduces service quality.

Siddhartha Behura, the telecommunications secretary, said yesterday that spectrum management would have to be reconsidered as the country prepared to embrace 3G technology.

[alexanderthegreat]

If that scares them bloodsuckers, everyone will be happier here. Bandwidth is costly here because there is no private infrastructure. Everyone either depends on BSNL or Cable Networks.

[thewisecrab]

Originally Posted by alexanderthegreat

If that scares them bloodsuckers, everyone will be happier here. Bandwidth is costly here because there is no private infrastructure. Everyone either depends on BSNL or Cable Networks.

I doubt whether this will shake them up.
They will say "Private company has conducted research. Hence cannot be trusted."

[gxsaurav]

^^^They are not completely wrong either if they say it. Vodafone is a private company & will sure give results like this to get more relaxation from TRAI in bringing 3G services to India. Just don't think from a user point of view that we need high speed internet, also think from a business point of view. 3G is a product for Vodafone & we all know how idiot these phone carriers make us. Vodafone Mobile Connect costs Rs 500 a month for 500 MB which is costly but there is also Vodafone Live with Pay-per-kb service which should suffice for most people. How many of you download DVD rips on your mobile phone anyway due to which u need unltd. plan (this is piracy though which obviously TRAI etc will not support)

In today's scenario of economic recession in India (completely invisible once u go to a mall on weekends ), investing on such costly infrastructure for 3G etc when there are only handful users out there who are actually asking for it for work & not just fun. Can you please tell me what need "you guys" have for 3G in your mobile phone?

3G for me means only 2 things

1) Always on internet
2) Video conversation

I don't watch T.V on such a small screen. It is not meant for some heavy duty work. Do you actually need 2 Mbps speed in a mobile phone, I mean...what is it that you will use it for? How many people do u know who have a 3G capable mobile phone with Video Conversation facility.

Just because you have it & U need it doesn't matter TRAI should invest in such heavy duty infrastructure right now. Let the phones sale first as phone manufacturers are coming now with 3G only phones in India.

The present scenario is just like when BSNL dataone came to India few years back & I even wrote an article justifying high cost at that time. I have myself used Airtel 128kbps unlimited internet at Rs 800 + tax a month & today we get 256kbps for the same price. This change in cost occurred just cos demand increased & people asked for it. The costs are reduciong further, for general home usage 512kbps is more then enough, stop being greedy & stop asking for 1 or 2 Mbps connection when all we use our internet is to pirate content.

Just cos Europe & USA has high speed internet, don't ask for it here. First think what use you have for internet & then ask for it. Setting up infrastructure costs & although the politician & system in India is lazy arse, it is costly for them to implement.

I would like to ask everyone here, what use do u have for 3G in your mobile phone with speed upto 2 MBps &/or unltd data plan? For me it is...

1) Always on Internet service
2) VoIP calls which can easily be blocked by your cell phone carrier
3) 256 kbps is enough for "me" in a mobile phone. It provides ample speed for VoIP, downloading mails over the Air, browsing Internet even on Webkit (Dekstop like). Opera Mini is even faster.

Instead of telling TRAI to bring 3G & HSDPA in India, better tell TRAI to force the Cell Phone service providers to provide always on Internet on Mobile first & not just speed. More speed is easy to sale in terms of marketing but how many people actually need it?

I am a heavy internet user on a mobile phone but even I am more in favor of Vodafone or Airtel to provide unlimited data plan based EDGE at Rs 200 in india with speed of 256 Kbps on current infrastructure instead of 3G at Rs 1.5k. First perfect what is existing here, EDGE & then go for 3G.

[Ecstasy]

If this doesn't work then i don't know what will. And honestly i didn't know UP and Assam never saw any internet connection, damn.

[gxsaurav]

^^^^ ahem...what??? I am from Lucknow, that is in U.P East.

[W i d e S c r e e N]

Originally Posted by gxsaurav

I am a heavy internet user on a mobile phone but even I am more in favor of Vodafone or Airtel to provide unlimited data plan based EDGE at Rs 200 in india with speed of 256 Kbps on current infrastructure instead of 3G at Rs 1.5k. First perfect what is existing here, EDGE & then go for 3G.

+1

[confused!!]

256 kbps is enough for me and if I upgrade, it will be whatever best I get below 1000 bucks

[chooza]

Originally Posted by alexanderthegreat

If that scares them bloodsuckers, everyone will be happier here. Bandwidth is costly here because there is no private infrastructure. Everyone either depends on BSNL or Cable Networks.

May I be wrong, but as far as my knowledge goes. VSNL, one of the Gateway in India, is in private hands and Relience is also having one of the major internet carrier backbone in world, in in our country too, they do not use BSNL Network, instead they use their own.
When we are paying more then who care to lower price and higher capacity. Don't just blame govt organizations for the sake.

[victor_rambo]

Wireless technology is perhaps the only solution for internet penetration in rural areas. Of course we may not be able to eliminate the end-mile wired connectivity.

[apoorva84]

hop the Indian government reads this..cause bsnl and mtnl are the major players..anyway, there are rumours that bsnl is going to provide 8mbps in 2009 at affordable rates...

[Ecstasy]

Originally Posted by gxsaurav

^^^^ ahem...what??? I am from Lucknow, that is in U.P East.

My bad.. i meant Bihar and Assam. Accidently typed UP. typo mistake.

[NucleusKore]

For once I totally agree with post #4 of gxsaurav (we don't always do we )

Connectivity without affordability is pointless. And wireless is the way to go as it is far easier to set up wireless towers in a crowded country like ours. I have seen enough havoc being created on the roads for laying and repairing OFC cables.

I hope BSNL or AirTel lead the way in providing wireless ALWAYS ON internet services.

[red_devil]

completely agree with gxsaurav...

i really dont think we have any use for 3G in mobile phone with speed upto 2 MBps !! we ain't downloading any P-rated content cell phone are we ?

[comp@ddict]

I hope this makes 2MBPS UL for 999 in 2-4 months time

[Ecstasy]

Originally Posted by comp@ddict

I hope this makes 2MBPS UL for 999 in 2-4 months time

That will be like a dream come true for all of us. 8)

[Liverpool_fan]

Originally Posted by comp@ddict

I hope this makes 2MBPS UL for 999 in 2-4 months time

I dream of this day...

[vickyadvani]

this article will not shake up our information tech minister for sure....we will continue with our snail speed

[comp@ddict]

Originally Posted by Anurag_panda

I dream of this day...

Me too, I've reached 2MBPS speed, but it's 8GB limited.

[alexanderthegreat]

Originally Posted by Ecstasy

My bad.. i meant Bihar and Assam. Accidently typed UP. typo mistake.

Bihar never saw the internet??? <sarcasm>But I am from Bihar! Wow! How come I'm able to reply to your post then? Bet that's a bug, lets go report it! This bug is gonna make me rich!</sarcasm> .

Originally Posted by chooza

May I be wrong, but as far as my knowledge goes. VSNL, one of the Gateway in India, is in private hands and Relience is also having one of the major internet carrier backbone in world, in in our country too, they do not use BSNL Network, instead they use their own.
When we are paying more then who care to lower price and higher capacity. Don't just blame govt organizations for the sake.

Why does everyone choose to misinterpret me? I wasn't blaming anyone. In spite of the signature, I appear to be slightly more insensitive than a blunt axe, the way people decipher my posts. Anyway, VSNL's services are not available everywhere, are they? The largest network still belongs to BSNL and local Cable Operators. Consequently, the cheapest broadband is available from BSNL.

As for the go wireless scheme, that still requires infrastructure. Setting up of towers everywhere so that every user gets nice speeds requires lots of money. Who pays? The end-user does! If staying wired gives us high speed and low cost, why not stick to it? If we have started something, we should complete it! (Man, I feel like a dork)

[Ecstasy]

Originally Posted by W i d e S c r e e N

India, Asia's third-largest economy, has less than 5 per cent internet penetration and only 0.4 per cent in broadband services. In some states, such as Bihar and Assam, internet was almost non-existent, research said.

That's what the article says, maybe the researchers reports are outdated as 7 to 8 yrs..

[IronManForever]

I agree with gxsaurav.

[Liverpool_fan]

Originally Posted by comp@ddict

Me too, I've reached 2MBPS speed, but it's 8GB limited.

I have 2Mbps plan too but with only 4GB limit. What is your plan and how does it cost?

[comp@ddict]

1299 plan, no nite UL though, 8GB, 2MBPS
AIRTEL

[parthbarot]

Whts this crap man?its good that we are ahead in technology and software market..and still using low net.thats lower usage of energy and money..then y the hell the private comp to be worried? we are happy and use as we need...we are not like those crappy people in other areas who uses INTERNET just to publish their daily life on net! its total crap... total...

anybody tell them..that lesser usage of energy and technology is better...instead of misuse it!

regards.

[gxsaurav]

Originally Posted by NucleusKore

wireless is the way to go as it is far easier to set up wireless towers in a crowded country like ours. I have seen enough havoc being created on the roads for laying and repairing OFC cables.

Quite true, I follow one statement of Dayanidhi Maran, "3G is not cost effective in India, 4G is". 4G has a large coverage area & although 3G can be available on mobile phones, what about normal Laptops & Dekstops used in villages etc where wiring isn't possible.

I am ready to Pay a Max of Rs 300 for unlimited data based EDGE service & Rs 600 if they allow me to connect a computer to mobile to use EDGE on PC. Even in delhi there are many places such as some secotor of dwarka where Airtel hasn't wired the colonies yet so at such places Wireless Internet of Mobile phone is the only way to go. Mobile phone companies should now start to give cheap EDGE at Rs 300 for use in Mobile phone but chrage a premium of Rs 600 or 700 when connected to a PC.

EDGE usually goes to a speed of 384 kbps which is equivalent to the regular broadband 90% of the people use at home (they still use 256 kbps mostly), so since 3G is here, they can start to charge a premium for 3G but should make EDGE cheap cos for most people, EDGE would suffice when they want to use internet on mobile phone.

lesser usage of energy and technology is better

he he, the amount of energy required by BSNL to provide 256 kbps is same as 8mbps (in electricity terms). They should not provide affordable internet at 2 mbps or 8 mbps for home use just now cos that will simply increase the amount of piracy already in India. Government should make Internet affordable but not too affordable. Frankly saying, if I stop piracy....If I stop downloading heavy data on Torrents then 512kbps is enough for my browsing or youtub needs. The only time I miss high speed internet is when I m downloading a 1.4 GB DVD rip off the torrent.

[gopi_vbboy]

Actually Most of the Indian BandWidth is stuck in the BSNL Internet Monopoly....
Hope Private company grows up faster to Connect ppl

[NucleusKore]

Originally Posted by gopi_vbboy

Actually Most of the Indian BandWidth is stuck in the BSNL Internet Monopoly....
Hope Private company grows up faster to Connect ppl

I think it depends on who is allowed to set up the gateways.

[Vishal Patil]

2Mbps is a must, but the rates are very high keeping in mind the scenario in our country.
Why so much speed?? Is it good to keep the PC on for 12 hrs to download on 256kbps connection or 3 hrs on 2Mbps connection. I am assuming the speed has increased 8 times, but download speed 4 times for various factors involved.

So downloading at the night unlimited time will save a lot of electricity, unless you are downloading the entire thing on your cell-phone connected to charger, which will use very less electricity. Why this point, coz it important to save resources in developing countries like ours.

[gxsaurav]

^^^^ Absolutely right, can U please tell me what "data" do u download

If it is piracy & downloading torrents then sorry...ISPs should not help you.

I agree that we should indeed have high speed internet. Who doesn't like browsing on high speed net, also with high speed net affordable more & more Indians will move to IPTV & content on Demand services along with Digital Media Store like iTunes (Example) or Netflix instead of pirating.

BSNL doesn't have the monopoly, its just that BSNL has wires laid everywhere inside the ground in India. The only way for private companies to penetrate internet in India is to go wireless which they can only do if they provide it at affordable. Today most of the phones out there are GPRS enabled, some are EDGE & few are 3G enabled in India, so cheap GPRS or EDGE will indeed increase the user base & money will start to roll for the carriers.